Books › the history of the violin, 1864 › scan 186
Scan 186
the history of the violin, 1864
4 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. Printed page 164. See the scan on archive.org.
1perhaps, more correctly confirmed it in the higher position of the two instruments, by means of his superior skill, as the violoncello appears to have been used as an accompaniment before this time, and the viol da gamba did not fall into disuse until afterwards. He used five strings at first, four of them tuned in fifths, and the first string a fourth higher than the present; but in 1730 this was suppressed, the instrument then remaining as the modern violoncello. John Sebastian Bach introduced an instrument he called the viola pomposa, in consequence, it is said, of the heavy style of violoncello performers in his time; a fifth string, E, was added, with the intention of giving greater facility for the execution of the higher passages; this instrument, however, does not appear to have been much used. About the same time, Risch of Weimar invented a keyed instrument, to imitate the bass-viol, or viol da gamba; it had gut strings, played on by small wheels properly resined, which were put in motion by a larger wheel. De Knonow, of Haute-Lusace, also made a kind of harpsichord, to be played on with a bow; both these instruments followed the usual fate of these inventions. A gentleman near Leeds has invented an instrument played on by keys, the notes being produced from gut strings by friction. At a moderate distance the sound is very good and quite orchestral, but on nearer approach it becomes rather harsh. It is, however, capable of being subdued in tone, and the sound can be increased or lessened by pressure, or management of the keys.
3In the Letters of Baron de Pollnitz, he mentions, in 1739, at Mersebourg, the residence of an enthusiastic amateur, a Duke of Saxony, a large saloon filled with bass-viols; in the middle was one which reached to the ceiling, and had a set of steps to mount to it, the most
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